H6475 H6475
To open wide (especially the mouth) to swallow, speak, or cry out; to rescue or deliver.
Patsah is a vivid physical verb meaning to part or gape open — almost always applied to the mouth, carrying dramatically different emotional registers. The earth 'opens its mouth' to swallow Cain's brother's blood (Gen 4:11) or to engulf Korah's rebels (Num 16:30), and enemies 'open wide their mouths' in predatory hostility (Lam 2:16; Ps 22:14). But in Psalm 144, the same root means 'rescue me' (Ps 144:7, 10, 11), where the Aramaic cognate petsa ('set free') illuminates how 'open' became 'release.' Spanish distinguishes abre from rescátame, confirming the semantic leap.
Senses
1. open wide the mouth — To open wide the mouth — the earth gapes to swallow Abel's blood (Gen 4:11) or Korah's rebels (Num 16:30; Deut 11:6), enemies open mouths in hostile mockery (Lam 2:16; Ps 22:14), and Jephthah's daughter notes her father 'opened his mouth' in a vow (Judg 11:35-36). Spanish abre and French ouvrir employ standard opening verbs. 11×
AR["اِفْتَحْ","فَتَحتَ","فَتَحتُ-","فَتَحَتِ","فَتَحَتْ","فَتَحُوا","وَ-فَاتِحٌ","وَ-فَتَحَتِ","يَفتَحُ"]·ben["এবং-ফাঁক-করে","খুলেছ","খুলেছি-","খুলেছে","খোল","খোলে","ফাঁক-করেছে","বা-খোলা","হা-করেছিল","হাঁ-করেছে"]·DE["[ופצה]","[פצה]","aufgetan-hat","du-haben-oeffnete","haben-oeffnete-","oeffnete","sie-öffnen","und-opens"]·EN["Open","Opened","and-opening","and-opens","have-opened-","open","opened","opens","they-open","you-have-opened"]·FR["avoir-ouvrit-","et-opens","et-ouvrir","ils-ont-ouvert","ouvrir","ouvrit","tu-avoir-ouvrit","יפצה"]·heb["ו-פוצה","ו-פצתה","יפצה","פצה","פצו","פצית","פציתי","פצתה"]·HI["और-खोलेगी","खोल","खोलता-है","खोलते-हैं","खोला","खोला-तूने","खोली","खोले-हैं","फाड़ते-हैं","या-खोलने-वाला"]·ID["Membuka-lebar","bukalah","dan-membuka","engkau-membuka","membuka","membuka-","telah-menganga"]·IT["[פצה]","apri","aprire-la-bocca","aprirono","aprì","avere-aprì-","e-aprire-la-bocca","e-opens","opens","tu-avere-aprì"]·jav["Menganga","Piyambakipun-sami-mbikak","bikaka","lan-menga","mbikak","mbikak-","ngebukak","panjenengan-mbikak","sampun-mbikak","utawi-mbikak"]·KO["그리고-볌린다","벌렸느니라","벌렸도다","벌리는","벌린다","열어라","열었네","열었다","열었다-","열었으면"]·PT["Abriram","abre","abri-","abriste","abriu","e-abrindo","e-abrir"]·RU["Разинули","и-разверзнет","и-разинувшего","открой","открывает-","открыл-","открыл-ты","открыла","разверзла","разинули"]·ES["Han-abierto","abre","abre-","abrieron","abriste","abrió","abrí-","o-abriera","y-abre"]·SW["Wamefumbua","Wamefungua","anafungua","au-aliyefungua","fungua","ilifungua","ilifunguka","na-itafunguka","nimefungua","umefungua"]·TR["Açtılar","açar-","açtı","açtılar","açtım","açtın","isyanın","ve-acan","ve-açarsa"]·urd["اور-کھولنے-والا","اور-کھولے","کھول","کھولا","کھولا-ہے-","کھولا-ہے-تُو-نے","کھولتا ہے","کھولے"]
2. rescue or deliver — To rescue or deliver — 'opening' becomes 'releasing from confinement.' All three occurrences appear in Psalm 144: 'Rescue me from the hand of foreigners' (vv. 7, 11) and 'the one who rescues David' (v. 10). The Aramaic cognate petsa ('set free') and Arabic fasaya ('separate') illuminate the semantic bridge from opening to liberation. 3×
AR["افتَدِنِي","المُنْقِذُ"]·ben["উদ্ধার-কর-আমাকে","যিনি-মুক্ত-করেন"]·DE["der-einer-rescuing","erretten-mich"]·EN["rescue-me","the-one-rescuing"]·FR["le-ouvrir","ouvrir"]·heb["ה-פוצה","פצני"]·HI["छुड़ानेवाला","निकाल-मुझे"]·ID["bebaskanlah-aku","yang-melepaskan"]·IT["apri'"]·jav["Ingkang-ngluwari","Mugi-ngluwari-kula","mugi-ngluwari-kula"]·KO["구해-내소서-나를","그-구해-내시는-분이시라"]·PT["Resgata-me","o-que-resgata","resgata-me"]·RU["избавляющий-","избавь-меня"]·ES["Rescátame","el-que-rescata","rescátame"]·SW["anayemwokoa","niokoe"]·TR["kurtar-beni","kurtaran"]·urd["جو-چھڑاتا-ہے","مجھے-چھڑا"]
3. open mouth to speak — To open the mouth for speaking — a single occurrence in Psalm 66:14: 'which my lips opened,' referring to vows uttered in distress. The distinction from sense 1 is functional: here the mouth opens to produce speech, not to swallow or threaten. The rarity suggests Hebrew preferred other verbs like patach for this meaning. 1×
AR["نَطَقَتْ"]·ben["খোলা-হয়েছে"]·DE["geöffnet"]·EN["opened"]·FR["ouvrir"]·heb["פצו"]·HI["खोले"]·ID["diucapkan"]·IT["aprirono"]·jav["medal"]·KO["열었도다"]·PT["abriram"]·RU["произнесли"]·ES["abrieron"]·SW["zilisema"]·TR["açtı"]·urd["کھولے"]
Related Senses
H5921a 1. upon, on, over (spatial) (5443×)H0413 1. directional: to, toward (5366×)H1121a 1. son, male offspring, descendant (4914×)H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)H4428 1. king, human ruler (2518×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H0935 1. come, arrive (Qal) (2413×)G1473 1. first person singular pronoun (2084×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)H6440 1. before, in front of (spatial) (1870×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H3027 1. physical hand (body part) (1596×)H1697 1. word, speech, utterance (1235×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)H3318 1. Qal: go out, depart, come forth (891×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H7725 1. to return, come/go back (Qal) (874×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [פָּצָה] vb. part, open (Arabic فَصَى i, ii. separate, remove; Aramaic פְּצָא especially set free, ܦܰܨܺܐ Pa. set free);— Qal Pf. 3 fs. פָּֽצְתָה Gn 4:11 +, 2 ms. פָּצִיתָ Ju 11:36, etc.; Impf. 3 ms. יִפְצֶה Jb 35:16; Imv. ms. פְּצֵה Ez 2:8, sf. פְּצֵנִי ψ 144:7, 11; Pt. פֹּצֶה Is 10:14, פּוֹ׳ ψ 144:10;— 1. open mouth: a. to swallow, fig. of ground, הָאֲדָמָה Gn 4:11 (J), Nu 16:30 (JE), הָאָרֶץ…